Friday 25 November 2011 15.12 EST
First published on Friday 25 November 2011 15.12 EST

Protest votes against James Murdoch remaining as chairman of BSkyB have been cast by three US-based investors ahead of next week's annual meeting of the satellite broadcaster.

The California State Teachers' Retirement System (Calstrs), the Florida State Board of Administration, and the Christian Brothers Investment Services (CBIS) have lodged votes against Murdoch remaining on the board. Calstrs, the largest teachers' retirement service in the US, with $146bn (£94bn) of assets, has voted against all the directors on the board ahead of the annual meeting on 29 November.

Calstrs was among the investors to vote against the re-election of Murdoch to the board of News Corporation at last month's annual meeting, while the CBIS led an unsuccessful campaign for Rupert Murdoch to be stripped of his roles as chairman and chief executive of News Corp, which owns almost 40% of BSkyB.

Even before the opposition of the three US funds was disclosed, James Murdoch was under pressure about his role as chairman of BSkyB, following the phone-hacking scandal. The Labour MP Chris Bryant intends to attend next week's annual meeting to express his concerns about the corporate governance at the company after he wrote to 40 major shareholders urging them to vote against James Murdoch's re-election to the board.

Shareholder advisory groups are concerned at the prospect of Murdoch's re-election to the board as chairman as some of them believe an independent director should hold the crucial role at the boardroom table following the phone-hacking scandal, which has raised concerns about the management of the company. Among the investor bodies to have expressed concern are UK-based Pirc, the US corporate governance expert Glass Lewis and the Association of British Insurers.

BSkyB has mounted a robust defence of its chairman, saying he has "always acted with integrity" during his time at the company. Murdoch was chief executive for four years before moving to the role of chairman in 2007, and has also won the endorsement from other investors, such as Odey Asset Management,

In a letter to shareholders this month, Nicholas Ferguson, who is the deputy chairman and main contact point for shareholders, said: "We have known James for some eight years, and during that time he has always acted with integrity in the eyes of both the board and the senior management. If this was to change, clearly the independent directors would re-evaluate the position."